Apple announced the launch of iPhone in one country or other in Europe - UK with mobile carrier o2, Germany with mobile carrier T-Mobile in the last two days - and today Apple announced its launch in France with mobile carrier Orange.
Apple seems to be choosing a different carrier every time, but just one carrier in each country.
It will be interesting to watch as all these country launches will happen on Nov 9, 2007 , as Ipod touch seems to have given Iphone less craze here in UK. Lets see how Europe would react to it !!
My general view: here SonyEricsson and Nokia have very good proposition compared to Iphone. As we view its not that leap through technology, exception the UI which we all agree is way ahead.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Xobni is cool app
First lets look at Xobni (pick for the coolest company) and what they have built.
They have an adjunct application for Microsoft Outlook, which scans through the entire email database and quickly establishes relationships among the people you email, and ranks them according to frequencies and relevance.
The best feature of this application is that it can tell you when a specific person is most likely to reply to you and how quickly. It is not discovery and presence in the purist sense, but it’s close enough. Future versions of Xobni’s software will bring together various web services — everything from Flickr photos to Twitter. I like the idea of a quick query that matches a name with a photo from Flickr or Photobucket.
(If you want to try Xobni, use invite code GigaOM — only the first 100 people are going to get the beta downloads.)
They have an adjunct application for Microsoft Outlook, which scans through the entire email database and quickly establishes relationships among the people you email, and ranks them according to frequencies and relevance.
The best feature of this application is that it can tell you when a specific person is most likely to reply to you and how quickly. It is not discovery and presence in the purist sense, but it’s close enough. Future versions of Xobni’s software will bring together various web services — everything from Flickr photos to Twitter. I like the idea of a quick query that matches a name with a photo from Flickr or Photobucket.
(If you want to try Xobni, use invite code GigaOM — only the first 100 people are going to get the beta downloads.)
Friday, September 14, 2007
HTTP vs. POP vs. IMAP vs. Exchange
HTTP vs. POP vs. IMAP vs. Exchange
HTTP
Web-based email
Not made for access other than the web
Some HTTP accounts can be checked given the right client tool (like Outlook can check Hotmail)
POP
Not made for keeping multiple computers/devices and web in sync
Generally, mail is downloaded from the server upon checking it (unless you use a tool like Outlook which has the ability to leave it on the server)
Even if you leave messages on the server, if you delete on remote device, it will not delete on the server (unless you have a client tool like Outlook which will give you some options)
If you send from remote device, it is not pushed to a sent items folders on the server
Only brings messages down in the Inbox (not sub-folders)
No good push capability for mobile devices (as of this writing)
POP is low cost
Most personal email accounts use POP (i.e. Gmail)
IMAP
Keeps multiple computers/devices and web in sync
Mail is left on the server when checked
Inbox and sub-folders are brought down to client machine/device
Push mail available on mobile devices, but many complain of poor support
Newer than POP
Catching on among personal users who do not have Exchange
Exchange
The most robust email platform
Mail is kept on the server
Allows calendar, tasks, notes, etc. in addition to email
Allows group collaboration of calendars, etc. when used in a group environment
Excellent about keeping everything (PCs/mobile devices/web) in sync
Push email for mobile devices (Blackberry and non-Blackberry with Exchange ActiveSync)
Pretty much the standard for medium size and enterprise email/collaboration
Expensive
Gaining popularity among small businesses and personal users as it becomes more affordable
…maybe, one day, I’ll turn this into a more complete chart of features to allow for generic comparison. But I will note, that there is a different connotation, a different aura that doesn’t fit into a particular feature list about each of these. For now, I will suggest that you should use Exchange since you are a blog reader of mine and are therefore technically-savvy, business-savvy, and/or someone who copies what I do since I know what I’m doing.
HTTP
Web-based email
Not made for access other than the web
Some HTTP accounts can be checked given the right client tool (like Outlook can check Hotmail)
POP
Not made for keeping multiple computers/devices and web in sync
Generally, mail is downloaded from the server upon checking it (unless you use a tool like Outlook which has the ability to leave it on the server)
Even if you leave messages on the server, if you delete on remote device, it will not delete on the server (unless you have a client tool like Outlook which will give you some options)
If you send from remote device, it is not pushed to a sent items folders on the server
Only brings messages down in the Inbox (not sub-folders)
No good push capability for mobile devices (as of this writing)
POP is low cost
Most personal email accounts use POP (i.e. Gmail)
IMAP
Keeps multiple computers/devices and web in sync
Mail is left on the server when checked
Inbox and sub-folders are brought down to client machine/device
Push mail available on mobile devices, but many complain of poor support
Newer than POP
Catching on among personal users who do not have Exchange
Exchange
The most robust email platform
Mail is kept on the server
Allows calendar, tasks, notes, etc. in addition to email
Allows group collaboration of calendars, etc. when used in a group environment
Excellent about keeping everything (PCs/mobile devices/web) in sync
Push email for mobile devices (Blackberry and non-Blackberry with Exchange ActiveSync)
Pretty much the standard for medium size and enterprise email/collaboration
Expensive
Gaining popularity among small businesses and personal users as it becomes more affordable
…maybe, one day, I’ll turn this into a more complete chart of features to allow for generic comparison. But I will note, that there is a different connotation, a different aura that doesn’t fit into a particular feature list about each of these. For now, I will suggest that you should use Exchange since you are a blog reader of mine and are therefore technically-savvy, business-savvy, and/or someone who copies what I do since I know what I’m doing.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Can Samsung Hold Off A Resurgent Motorola?
UPDATE: Can Samsung Hold Off A Resurgent Motorola?
[Source: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200709100822DOWJONESDJONLINE000211_FORTUNE5.htm
]
LONDON (Dow Jones) -- None of its phones have triggered the excitement of Apple's iPhone or the mass buying of Motorola's RAZR, yet South Korea's Samsung Electronics over the summer quietly became the world's No. 2 seller of mobile phones behind Nokia Corp.
The wireless industry, momentarily thrown into a tizzy by the arrival of the iPhone, paid little attention as the Asian titan surpassed Motorola (MOT) in terms of market share.
Yet the move invites an important question: Was it a fluke, or does Samsung have what it takes to hold off a resurgent Motorola in the longer term?
The U.S. vendor's woes over the last quarters -- from the lack of a convincing successor to the RAZR to a somewhat haphazard strategy and inventory gluts-- no doubt played an important part in Samsung's surge ahead.
Yet the group's (SSNGY) ascent can't be dismissed solely as the result of its nearest competitor's mistakes. Industry observers say it may be sowing the seeds of a longer-lived domination.
Samsung, which has built a reputation for churning out attractive phones quickly, but is sometimes criticized for copying its competitors' designs, is skillfully tweaking its strategy.
In the last two quarters, it has departed slightly from an exclusive focus on the high end to launch less sophisticated models aimed at helping it gain share in the mid-market, where its ever-thinner phones hold great appeal. It's also looking to new territory, with plans to expand into the entry-level segment.
"Samsung is marketing and pricing aggressively to expand its entry-tier product line and to take share from a downbeat Motorola in mid- and higher- tiers," said Neil Mawston, associate director in the global wireless practice of research firm Strategy Analytics.
Those tactics are clearly paying off. It had 15% of the global market in the second quarter compared to 14% for Motorola and 39% for Nokia (NOK) , according to Strategy Analytics.
Motorola: the comeback kid?
Despite two restructuring initiatives announced so far this year and a management shakeup within the mobile-devices unit, industry observers don't expect a recovery anytime soon at Motorola.
"I don't see their situation improving for the next two quarters at least," said Shaleindra Pandey, a telecoms analyst at ABI Research. "They're going to need to come up with something better than yet another RAZR."
Motorola's shares have fallen 29% over the past 12 months. Samsung shares have lost 13% over the same period.
A strategy presentation last Friday did little to reassure investors that the company has gotten its magic back.
Richard Windsor, an analyst with Nomura International, said he believes just stabilizing the business will be much harder than management suggests.
"We think the difficulties that the mobile devices division faces have been underplayed," Windsor said, adding that big market share gains are unlikely in the short term.
Blaine Carroll, an analyst for FTN Midwest, is similarly cautious. He said in a note last month that he expects Motorola to continue to lose market share in the third quarter to the four other major vendors -- Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson (SNE) (ERICY) and LG. He also said handset estimates could be revised lower in the fourth quarter.
Credit Suisse analysts were even more pessimistic, cautioning in a note last week that Motorola is likely to remain on the back foot until the second half of 2008. In Western Europe, where Motorola has a historically weaker position, particularly relative to Nokia, the recovery could take even longer, they warned, because of the need to introduce brand new lines.
The Credit Suisse analysts said that while they believe Motorola will eventually return to being a robust player, the recovery will only happen once it has stopped oozing market share, revamped its portfolio, particularly in 3G, and is achieving operating margins close to double-digits again.
Geoff Blaber, a senior analyst at research firm CCS Insight, explained that Motorola's product roadmap in the mid-range and high-end segments was substantially affected by software problems when the company transitioned its software from a proprietary platform to a Java Linux system. As a result, the vendor wasn't able to develop new handsets as quickly as its competitors.
"It is crucial for Motorola to demonstrate that they're over these software problems and that the new Linux-Java platform is up and running," he said.
"Then we need them to start rolling out new products much more often, particularly in 3G," he added.
For now, unfortunately, there seems to be little enthusiasm for Motorola's latest products.
Initial sales of the RIZR Z8, a new high-end "kick slider" device, appear to have gotten off to a slow start, Oppenheimer analysts told clients at the end of July. According to Mobile Today's Mobile Tracker service in the U.K., the RIZR Z8 ranked as the twentieth best-selling contract handset in the weeks ending July 20 and July 27. It then dropped even further down.
"The Z8 'media monster' hasn't really shaken people up," said Carolina Milanesi, research director in the mobile and consumer device practice of Gartner.
"They made a big splash at the 3GSM telecoms trade show because of the ergonomics, but it doesn't have any must-have feature. And it's still focused on video, which is a hard sell," she said.
During the summer Motorola also introduced the W series, targeted at the mass market, and its new RAZR, simply called the RAZR2, which many analysts said may have been the first mistake.
"If you're going to upgrade from your current phone, you want the new phone to sound like something new and exciting," Milanesi said.
She added that while many consumers were persuaded to buy the original RAZR because of its hot looks and despite its poor functionality, they may not show the same enthusiasm for the RAZR2 in the absence of a similar design edge.
Motorola management itself concedes the company will need more than a new bestseller to turn its fortunes around. In an investor presentation last week, Chief Financial Officer Tom Meredith said that while a new hit product would be great, it's not absolutely necessary for the company to return to profitability or regain market share. What the group really needs, he said is to be "boringly consistent" and improve its cost structure.
Samsung
So it looks as though Samsung will get another few quarters to endear itself to consumers and operators.
"They're in a very, very strong position at the moment," said CCS Insight's Blaber. "I would expect them to maintain their No. 2 position in the next few months at least," he added.
Devices such as the ultra thin U600 are doing extremely well in several European markets, and the U.K. in particular. Samsung is also introducing a new phone equipped with a 5 megapixel camera, albeit at a much lower price than rival models from the likes of Sony Ericsson and LG.
Blaber said the device is likely to gain a lot of attention and exemplifies Samsung's strategy of using "halo" products to attract new customers.
The Korean maker is able to offer the phone at a cut-throat price because it's only 2.5G, Blaber said. The vendor's strong manufacturing capabilities and vertically integrated business model, with many of the components produced in- house, are another bonus.
But despite all its recent success, Samsung is not without weaknesses.
The most blatant one until recently, according to some industry observers, has been a lack of true design innovation, with the company relying instead on its ability to quickly imitate what worked for its competitors. For instance, shortly after Nokia launched its L'Amour collection of phones in soft colors targeted at women, Samsung debuted its La Fleur range, using similar hues and flowery prints.
"They're happy to just basically copy what's working for the other vendors," said Gartner's Milanesi.
She is also concerned about the lack of a clear long-term strategy, stressing that the vendor only seem to be focused on getting thinner at the moment.
Blaber, however, pointed out that Samsung's designs are becoming more and more revolutionary with models such as the "flipper" F300, with one side for playing music and videos and the other featuring a regular phone and keypad.
With the help of such attraction-grabbing phones, Credit Suisse analysts expect Samsung's market share to continue to increase.
"Recent market share data show that Samsung is well on track with its expansion strategy as it benefited from Motorola's loss, especially in China, with a handsome contribution from the low-end segment," the broker said. (END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-10-07 0822ET
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
[Source: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200709100822DOWJONESDJONLINE000211_FORTUNE5.htm
]
LONDON (Dow Jones) -- None of its phones have triggered the excitement of Apple's iPhone or the mass buying of Motorola's RAZR, yet South Korea's Samsung Electronics over the summer quietly became the world's No. 2 seller of mobile phones behind Nokia Corp.
The wireless industry, momentarily thrown into a tizzy by the arrival of the iPhone, paid little attention as the Asian titan surpassed Motorola (MOT) in terms of market share.
Yet the move invites an important question: Was it a fluke, or does Samsung have what it takes to hold off a resurgent Motorola in the longer term?
The U.S. vendor's woes over the last quarters -- from the lack of a convincing successor to the RAZR to a somewhat haphazard strategy and inventory gluts-- no doubt played an important part in Samsung's surge ahead.
Yet the group's (SSNGY) ascent can't be dismissed solely as the result of its nearest competitor's mistakes. Industry observers say it may be sowing the seeds of a longer-lived domination.
Samsung, which has built a reputation for churning out attractive phones quickly, but is sometimes criticized for copying its competitors' designs, is skillfully tweaking its strategy.
In the last two quarters, it has departed slightly from an exclusive focus on the high end to launch less sophisticated models aimed at helping it gain share in the mid-market, where its ever-thinner phones hold great appeal. It's also looking to new territory, with plans to expand into the entry-level segment.
"Samsung is marketing and pricing aggressively to expand its entry-tier product line and to take share from a downbeat Motorola in mid- and higher- tiers," said Neil Mawston, associate director in the global wireless practice of research firm Strategy Analytics.
Those tactics are clearly paying off. It had 15% of the global market in the second quarter compared to 14% for Motorola and 39% for Nokia (NOK) , according to Strategy Analytics.
Motorola: the comeback kid?
Despite two restructuring initiatives announced so far this year and a management shakeup within the mobile-devices unit, industry observers don't expect a recovery anytime soon at Motorola.
"I don't see their situation improving for the next two quarters at least," said Shaleindra Pandey, a telecoms analyst at ABI Research. "They're going to need to come up with something better than yet another RAZR."
Motorola's shares have fallen 29% over the past 12 months. Samsung shares have lost 13% over the same period.
A strategy presentation last Friday did little to reassure investors that the company has gotten its magic back.
Richard Windsor, an analyst with Nomura International, said he believes just stabilizing the business will be much harder than management suggests.
"We think the difficulties that the mobile devices division faces have been underplayed," Windsor said, adding that big market share gains are unlikely in the short term.
Blaine Carroll, an analyst for FTN Midwest, is similarly cautious. He said in a note last month that he expects Motorola to continue to lose market share in the third quarter to the four other major vendors -- Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson (SNE) (ERICY) and LG. He also said handset estimates could be revised lower in the fourth quarter.
Credit Suisse analysts were even more pessimistic, cautioning in a note last week that Motorola is likely to remain on the back foot until the second half of 2008. In Western Europe, where Motorola has a historically weaker position, particularly relative to Nokia, the recovery could take even longer, they warned, because of the need to introduce brand new lines.
The Credit Suisse analysts said that while they believe Motorola will eventually return to being a robust player, the recovery will only happen once it has stopped oozing market share, revamped its portfolio, particularly in 3G, and is achieving operating margins close to double-digits again.
Geoff Blaber, a senior analyst at research firm CCS Insight, explained that Motorola's product roadmap in the mid-range and high-end segments was substantially affected by software problems when the company transitioned its software from a proprietary platform to a Java Linux system. As a result, the vendor wasn't able to develop new handsets as quickly as its competitors.
"It is crucial for Motorola to demonstrate that they're over these software problems and that the new Linux-Java platform is up and running," he said.
"Then we need them to start rolling out new products much more often, particularly in 3G," he added.
For now, unfortunately, there seems to be little enthusiasm for Motorola's latest products.
Initial sales of the RIZR Z8, a new high-end "kick slider" device, appear to have gotten off to a slow start, Oppenheimer analysts told clients at the end of July. According to Mobile Today's Mobile Tracker service in the U.K., the RIZR Z8 ranked as the twentieth best-selling contract handset in the weeks ending July 20 and July 27. It then dropped even further down.
"The Z8 'media monster' hasn't really shaken people up," said Carolina Milanesi, research director in the mobile and consumer device practice of Gartner.
"They made a big splash at the 3GSM telecoms trade show because of the ergonomics, but it doesn't have any must-have feature. And it's still focused on video, which is a hard sell," she said.
During the summer Motorola also introduced the W series, targeted at the mass market, and its new RAZR, simply called the RAZR2, which many analysts said may have been the first mistake.
"If you're going to upgrade from your current phone, you want the new phone to sound like something new and exciting," Milanesi said.
She added that while many consumers were persuaded to buy the original RAZR because of its hot looks and despite its poor functionality, they may not show the same enthusiasm for the RAZR2 in the absence of a similar design edge.
Motorola management itself concedes the company will need more than a new bestseller to turn its fortunes around. In an investor presentation last week, Chief Financial Officer Tom Meredith said that while a new hit product would be great, it's not absolutely necessary for the company to return to profitability or regain market share. What the group really needs, he said is to be "boringly consistent" and improve its cost structure.
Samsung
So it looks as though Samsung will get another few quarters to endear itself to consumers and operators.
"They're in a very, very strong position at the moment," said CCS Insight's Blaber. "I would expect them to maintain their No. 2 position in the next few months at least," he added.
Devices such as the ultra thin U600 are doing extremely well in several European markets, and the U.K. in particular. Samsung is also introducing a new phone equipped with a 5 megapixel camera, albeit at a much lower price than rival models from the likes of Sony Ericsson and LG.
Blaber said the device is likely to gain a lot of attention and exemplifies Samsung's strategy of using "halo" products to attract new customers.
The Korean maker is able to offer the phone at a cut-throat price because it's only 2.5G, Blaber said. The vendor's strong manufacturing capabilities and vertically integrated business model, with many of the components produced in- house, are another bonus.
But despite all its recent success, Samsung is not without weaknesses.
The most blatant one until recently, according to some industry observers, has been a lack of true design innovation, with the company relying instead on its ability to quickly imitate what worked for its competitors. For instance, shortly after Nokia launched its L'Amour collection of phones in soft colors targeted at women, Samsung debuted its La Fleur range, using similar hues and flowery prints.
"They're happy to just basically copy what's working for the other vendors," said Gartner's Milanesi.
She is also concerned about the lack of a clear long-term strategy, stressing that the vendor only seem to be focused on getting thinner at the moment.
Blaber, however, pointed out that Samsung's designs are becoming more and more revolutionary with models such as the "flipper" F300, with one side for playing music and videos and the other featuring a regular phone and keypad.
With the help of such attraction-grabbing phones, Credit Suisse analysts expect Samsung's market share to continue to increase.
"Recent market share data show that Samsung is well on track with its expansion strategy as it benefited from Motorola's loss, especially in China, with a handsome contribution from the low-end segment," the broker said. (END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-10-07 0822ET
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
In Europe, They Like Their VoIP
In Europe, They Like Their VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol is a fast-growing business in the United States, but it’s growing even faster in Europe, and its traction in the old world is only going to increase. With competitive broadband service providers (such as France’s Free and Talk Talk in the UK) offering flat-rate voice plans over their high-speed pipes and wireless carriers embracing triple-play offerings, Europe is poised to emerge as one of the regions where VoIP has a major impact.
According to market research firm Telegeography, consumer VoIP subscribers in Europe will reach 40 percent market penetration by 2011. That’s compared with the U.S., where total VoIP market penetration is forecast to top just 20 percent by the same year.
One of the main reasons for this is divergence: U.S. telecom incumbents AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) have more or less stayed out of the VoIP game, leaving the big push to come from cable operators such as Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (TWC). In the meantime, the independent voice service providers Vonage (VG) and SunRocket have fallen on hard times. Taken together, there were just 11.8 million VoIP subscribers in the U.S. at the end of the second quarter.
Conversely, the European incumbents — Britain’s BT Group (BT), France Telecom (FTE) and Deutsche Telekom (DT) of Germany — have responded to pressure from upstarts like Free, who have easier access to local loops, by becoming more active in their respective markets. And of course there’s Skype, which is extremely popular in Europe.
VoIP in Europe is also getting a boost from tiny tots such as Truphone, Fring, Jajah, Rebtel, Cellity — an ever-growing army of startups that is looking to lower the costs of making calls over wireless networks across Europe. The popularity of Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones is only going to accelerate the growth of VoIP on the old continent that much more.
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